Andrea Zelinski
One of the biggest cruise stories this fall has been in Juneau, where officials struck a deal with cruise lines to limit passengers and ships, hoping to get a handle on cruise traffic and stave off concerns of overtourism.
Starting in 2026, this key port of call will have both a five-ship limit (which went into effect this year) and a cap on berths at about 16,000 most days of the week. It made me wonder: What would that mean for cruise lines not already sailing to the 49th state?
Would MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages, lines that have yet to position a ship in one of the industry's most popular destinations, be edged out?
It turns out MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages found a way in. Both cruise lines have announced Alaska itineraries for the 2026 season this week.
MSC will offer itineraries from Seattle that include calls in Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point and Juneau and Victoria, British Columbia. Its first cruise to Alaska is planned for May 11, 2026.
The latest line to head to the Last Frontier, Virgin Voyages will offer seven to 12-night itineraries from Seattle and Vancouver beginning May 21, 2026. The line will cruise in Alaska on the Brilliant Lady, the newest ship in the fleet. Its maiden voyage will call in Ketchikan; Sitka; Prince Rupert, British Columbia; and cruise the Tracy Arm Fjord. Other calls include Juneau, Haines, Icy Strait Point and Skagway.
But what about other lines that haven't yet firmed up deployment; could they eke its way into the soon-to-be-limited berth space? Other port cities, like Sitka, are considering limits, too.
When I was reporting on this cover story about the cruise limits in Alaska, Robert Morgenstern, Carnival Corp.'s senior VP of Alaska operations, warned that cruise lines not already in Alaska could have problems securing space there.
"I think for new entrants in the market, it's more of a likelihood of challenge because, for those of us who've been there for quite some time, we have berthing agreements in place that protect our ability to call," he said. "If you're a new market entrant, it might be more challenging to stitch all that together."
Morgenstern told me in August he still saw some wiggle room to add more capacity before hitting the caps, as some days were shy of those new limits.
So, for the moment, it appears the limits haven't blocked a few new cruise lines from getting in on the Alaska cruise action.